I never expected to have so much success, Messi says

FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi on Tuesday said he never expected to have such a successful career after receiving his fifth Golden Shoe in Barcelona.

The award was for his being the top goalscorer in Europe last season.

The forward scored 34 times in La Liga last season to claim his fifth Golden Shoe award, which is one more than Juventus’s Cristiano Ronaldo has won.

Messi pipped Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah to the prize after the Egyptian netted 32 times in the English Premier League.

“When I started playing I did not expect all this. My dream was, obviously, to be a professional, but I didn’t imagine so much,” Messi said at a gala.

“This is thanks to hard work and effort and, above all, my team mates. I have the best players in the world in their positions playing beside me and that makes everything easier and lets me win these prizes.”

Messi, who also earned the Golden Shoe in 2009/2010, 2011/2012, 2012/2013 and 2016/2017, led FC Barcelona to a league and cup domestic double last season.

The forward leads La Liga’s top scorers chart with 14 goals in this campaign, more than any other player in the top five European leagues.

According to Metro UK, Woodward told United’s players at Old Trafford training ground shortly after Mourinho’s sack that one of the reasons the club fired the Portuguese gaffer was because of the Red Devils’ current position on the Premier League table.

The report claimed that Woodward also said that Mourinho’s relationship with some of United’s most high profile players was another reason why the former Chelsea coach was sacked, adding that United board could not continue under the circumstances.

The report also claimed that the United boss did not only put the whole blame on the 55-year-old.

Man United will tackle Cardiff City on Saturday in the Premier League fixture at home.

Like this:

Man Utd sack Mourinho after poor start to the season

Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Manchester United following their disappointing start to the season.

The Red Devils currently sit sixth in the Premier League table but have already lost five times in 17 matches, leaving them 19 points behind leaders Liverpool and 11 off fourth-placed Chelsea in the fight for Champions League places.

That follows a summer transfer window in which Mourinho routinely complained at a lack of signings, with the Portuguese unable to persuade the club’s hierarchy to sign a new centre-back.

Mourinho has continued to drop hints that he remains unhappy at that failure to spend big, and he now leaves after two-and-a-half years in charge at Old Trafford, with his final match in charge Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool.

“Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect,” a statement read.

“The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future.

“A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager.”